FORT PICKETT, Virginia — The Army’s new personnel and pay system is coming to Virginia this spring and its rollout will require Virginia Army National Guard Soldiers and leaders at all levels to complete various levels of training in order to take full advantage of its capabilities.
The Integrated Personnel and Pay System Army, which is scheduled to go live in Virginia April 3, 2019, is an online human resources system that will provide integrated personnel, pay and talent management capabilities in a single system to all Army components for the first time ever.
“IPPS-A is not only replacing SIDPERS, but its bringing additional functionality to the Total Force,” explained Chief Warrant Oficer 2 Lionel Blair, the IPPS-A integration officer in the Virginia Army National Guard state personnel office.
IPPS-A will integrate more than 30 current systems and will provide integrated human resource capabilities which will enable Army personnel data updates to automatically trigger Soldier pay transactions. This capability will ensure Soldiers receive timely and accurate pay once a personnel change is made, such as a promotion or change in dependents.
“Soldiers now have a ‘Virtual PAC Slip’ to submit documents, request personnel actions or simply submit an inquiry to their readiness NCO and S-1,” Blair said.
In addition, the self-service IPPS-A web portal will improve access to personnel and pay information by providing a self-service option. The portal can be accessed from a cell phone or laptop using their DOD self-service logon account. Users can also use the Common Access Card to access the portal and are advised to use their email certificate when doing so.
All of IPPS-A’s capabilities will create a more accurate and reliable human resource system for Army Soldiers, leaders, commanders and human resource professionals.
“Readiness NCOs and S-1 offices now have a ticket system embedded within IPPS-A to troubleshoot and correct Soldiers’ records,” Blair explained. “This reduces the reliance on e-mail management and local suspense files.”
All Virginia National Guard Soldiers will have access to self-service capabilities within IPPS-A, but in order for this to happen, users will first need to become familiar with the system.
That means all Virginia Army National Guard Soldiers, both M-Day and Active Guard and Reserve, will be required to complete online training.
Commanders at all levels have a one-hour distance learning requirement in order to approve personnel actions.
“Commanders have access to manage their Soldiers, see their readiness indicators and approve transactions from home,” Blair said. “First sergeants and sergeants major now have visibility of their formation 24/7.”
Readiness NCOs and human resource Soldiers will receive additional training, which will teach them how to process transactions for their units. The 183rd Regional Training Institute at Fort Pickett will host nine separate training courses to Virginia National Guard human resource professionals in March.